Lenny Strollo

[Chaps]

Scott Burnstein has an interesting article on Lenny Strollo in the latest Gangster Report. Interested to hear all the Youngstown experts opinion on the subject.

http://gangsterreport.com/the-fall-of-y ... y-strollo/

[FriendofHenry]

Lenny did NOT order the hit on Joey! Another local "fellow" hit Joey on his own in an effort to gain favor with Lenny.
Henry Zottola warned Ernie to get his poker machines out of Hillsville otherwise his life was in danger. The FBI also warned Ernie.
Additionally Lenny and Bernie were life long friends. Thus Lenny rolling-over on Bernie was most despicable.
Everything else reported seems to fall in line with what is most commonly known: Greed kills!

[JCB1977]

Scott Burnstein has an interesting article on Lenny Strollo in the latest Gangster Report. Interested to hear all the Youngstown experts opinion on the subject.

http://gangsterreport.com/the-fall-of-y ... y-strollo/

There were definitely some glaring inaccuracies in the article. Again, I like Scott and all of his writing and I don't know who his sources were for this piece:

1. Strollo had NOTHING to do with the Joey Naples murder

2. Lenny Strollo was not a Capo. Yes, he was in charge of the Youngstown rackets but never promoted up to Capo because he was trigger happy and brought alot of heat. Mike Genovese wouldn't even meet with him, Strollo reported to Henry "Zebo" Zottola.

3. By the mid 1990's, the Youngstown faction of OC moved most of their business out to the suburbs (like Detroit) because the city was not as prosperous as it once was since the collapse of the steel industry. Money was rolling in to the tune of $40k per month to Pittsburgh. One of the primary suburbs where illegal gambling was at every business was Campbell, OH where Strollo owned the entire town.

4. Ernie Biondillo was nicknamed Ernie B or EB. He was Joey Naples' top associate and felt slighted by Pittsburgh and Zebo when he was not selected to be made. He hated Lenny and the feeling was mutual. Check out this article of trial transcripts to Lenny's cooperating testimony:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=77 ... ollo&hl=en (Scroll to page 4)

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7 ... rder&hl=en (wiretaps of Lenny Strollo and the hit on Ernie Biondillo)

5. Gary Van Brocklin was not a "mob lawyer." He was a former Prosecutor and he was shot in broad daylight by Mark Batcho in his law office so Strollo could get a delay for another trial of Altshuler associate Jeff Riddle.

[JCB1977]

Two great pieces done on the downfall of Lenny Strollo and the Youngstown faction of the LaRocca Family:

http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/end ... id=1472059

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/poli ... metown-usa

[JCB1977]

Here are some other good articles done on Youngstown by the local newspapers:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=od ... k+st&hl=en (Ernie Biondillo Murder)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XI ... rder&hl=en (Joey Naples Murder)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XY ... ship&hl=en (Joey Naples murder-follow up article the day after he was whacked August 20, 1991)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Xo ... ship&hl=en (Joey Naples-August 21, 1991)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=X4 ... bbia&hl=en (Joey Naples eulogy/burial)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZI ... ship&hl=en (Joey Naples follow up article August 27, 1991)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C7 ... l+oh&hl=en (All American Club raid-Illegal casino in the Youngstown area)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1 ... 031,922644 (Joey Naples/Paul Hankish/Pittsburgh and ties to Gambino Crime Family through Joseph "Demus" Covello)

[JCB1977]

This article was done in 1999 in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette after Strollo agreed to cooperate. As part of his cooperation, the Feds let him keep $10 million in cash and other real estate holdings worth another $10 million.

OHIO CRIME BOSS STROLLO DESCRIBES HIS OPERATIONS, POLITICAL PAYOFFS

BYLINE: FROM WIRE DISPATCHES
DATE: March 7, 1999
PUBLICATION: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
EDITION: TWO STAR
SECTION: NATIONAL
PAGE: A-14

Lenine Strollo spoke last week about a place where justice was for sale, an unbought prosecutor was targeted for death, underworld rivalries turned deadly and lucrative municipal contracts flowed to mob coffers.
Federal prosecutors in Ohio say Pittsburgh organized crime figures chose Strollo to head mob activities in Mahoning County, Ohio, because of his control of politicians and police and his ability to earn money from illegal gambling operations in and around Youngstown. Strollo, 68, pleaded guilty Feb. 16 to racketeering and tax fraud, in exchange for a prison term of as little as 12 years. Last week he testified in U.S. District Court in Cleveland against his top associate, Bernard Altshuler, 67, and Altshuler's enforcers, Jeffrey Riddle, 38, and Lavance Turnage, 25. They are accused of planning the killing of rival mobster Ernie Biondillo, trying to assassinate Mahoning County Prosecutor-elect Paul Gains and participating in Strollo's illegal gambling operations.
In the mid-1980s, Strollo testified, he and Joseph Naples were inducted into the Pittsburgh Mafia.
He identified Michael J. Genovese, 79, of West Deer, whom prosecutors have not charged, as the head of the Pittsburgh Mafia family. "You get together with other members, you took an oath, draw blood from a finger and burn a religious card to take an oath of silence," he said.
Naples headed the Mahoning Valley mob for several years, until his murder in August 1991. Strollo said he played no role in Naples' death and does not know who killed him. But he inherited Naples' position.
He said Charles Imburgia of Warren, Ohio, summoned him to a meeting with Patsy Feruccio of Canton, Ohio. In 1990 the Pennsylvania Crime Commission described Imburgia, now 91, and Feruccio, 81, as top associates of Genovese.
"They told me that I was going to be the boss of Youngstown," he said.
Strollo made Altshuler and Lawrence Garono his top lieutenants. He had met Altshuler 30 years earlier through Henry Zottola of Plum, another top Genovese associate who died in August.
Strollo and other witnesses made other disclosures last week.
* Strollo admitted having attorney Gary Van Brocklin shot to gain a delay in a 1996 robbery and burglary case against mob soldier Lavance Turnage. Turnage wanted attorney Michael Rich to take over as attorney and get the case fixed, but Van Brocklin balked at getting the case delayed. In the middle of the trial, on April 1, 1996, Van Brocklin was shot in the leg at his office. A mistrial was declared, and Turnage hired Rich.
* Van Brocklin admitted that he had done legal work for Strollo. Later, Strollo testified that Van Brocklin was his business lawyer in the 1970s and that he financed Van Brocklin's 1984 campaign for county prosecutor. At his request, he said, Van Brocklin made Rich an assistant prosecutor. But as prosecutor, Strollo said, Van Brocklin shifted his allegiance to Naples.
* Van Brocklin denied that he did anything improper for Strollo. But on Friday he resigned as a special prosecutor for the Mahoning County Fraud Task Force. He was appointed to the position in October to investigate sheriff's deputies on various corruption charges.
* In an attempt to fix the Turnage case, Strollo turned to George Alexander, a disbarred attorney, and James Philomena, a former county prosecutor. They planned to have Turnage sentenced to three-to-fifteen years in prison, and then get him released quickly on shock parole.
* In exchange for fixing the Turnage case, Strollo said, Alexander and Philomena wanted Paul Gains killed. Gains had defeated Philomena in the March 1996 primary election. Strollo would then try to have Rich appointed prosecutor. On Dec. 24, 1996, a gunman ambushed and shot Gains in his home. He survived the attack. Neither Alexander nor Philomena has been charged.
* Strollo said he mediated a dispute between New York mob boss John Gotti and Boardman, Ohio, businessman Bruce Zoldan, who operated B.J. Alan Fireworks Inc. He said Zoldan had agreed to a 10 percent kickback on all fireworks sold in New York City, then reneged on a $300,000 payment. New York mobsters wanted to hurt or kill Zoldan, but working through Zottola and William D' Elia of the Buffalo, N.Y., crime family, Strollo got the debt reduced to $100,000. Zoldan's attorney called Strollo's story "pure fabrication."
* Strollo admitted ordering the hit on mob rival Ernie Biondillo in 1996. He said Biondillo ran gambling operations behind his back, including poker machines in Hillsville, Pa., and a bingo game at the Pacar Center near New Castle. He said Biondillo had badmouthed him to Zottola and he believed Biondillo was trying to have him killed. "He had no respect for anybody," Strollo said of Biondillo.
* Strollo admitted that he helped arrange the 1980 disappearance of Charles Carabbia for mob leaders. Carabbia represented the Cleveland Mafia family that was engaged in a turf war with the Pittsburgh mob in which 10 people were killed. His car was found abandoned in Cleveland and his body was never found.
* Strollo said he arranged to have police Sgt. Charles Xanakis made police chief in the Youngstown suburb of Campbell. Xanakis, no longer police chief, has pleaded guilty to charges that he took $500 monthly payments fromStrollo and $2,000 for a Hawaiian vacation in exchange for ignoring illegal gambling.
* Michael Rich, Campbell law director for most of the period from 1976 to 1996, said he fixed cases in municipal court for Strollo, protected Strollo's gambling operations, falsified the results of police promotional exams soStrollo could determine who served on the force, and steered contracts worth millions of dollars to companies controlled by Strollo. Rich has pleaded guilty to charges.
* While serving as an assistant county prosecutor, Rich said, he fixed grand jury cases for Strollo.
* Strollo said he bribed Mahoning County Court Judge Martin Emrich because his stepson, Raymond Hertz, had a drunken driving case before the judge. Strollo had associate Lawrence Garono do landscaping at Emrich's home.
* Strollo said he gave $10,000 to Philip Chance for his 1996 campaign for county sheriff. Chance has pleaded not guilty to charges.
* Garono said he got Chance to appoint his cousin, John Chicase, chief of detectives, and then had Chicase raid illegal gambling operations that were not sanctioned by Strollo. Chicase has pleaded guilty to charges.

[scott22]

thanks for the notes, fellas! I will make the edits.

Scott

[JCB1977]

thanks for the notes, fellas! I will make the edits.

Scott

Hi Scott,

I loved the piece (obviously since I'm from Youngstown). I think all of Northeast Ohio assumed Strollo engineered the hit on Naples because it made perfect sense for him to do it...however, Joey was "very important" to Mike Genovese and Chucky Porter's cocaine distribution network, which Strollo wanted no part of. While they were both co-bosses, Joey focused on narcotics and Lenny focused on the gambling. According to a federal affidavit, during the lengthy deposition for Strollo's plea agreement, he explained to the FBI that the trigger man for the Naples hit was notorious bank burglar Amil Dinsio. According to Lenny, Dinsio killed Naples to curry favor with Bernie Altshuler so he and his crew would get assigned more scores around the tri-state area. Dinsio lived about 20 minutes from the scene and after the FBI did a thorough background check on Dinsio, it was learned that he was a marine sharpshooter and was an expert marksman with the same high powered rifle used in Naples' murder. When the FBI went to see Dinsio about moving him closer to his family if he admitted to the Naples slaying, he kindly told them to go fuck themselves. The FBI confirmed this information with mob hitman Robert Dorler, who ended up passing away before they could get the rest of the information. Dorler was found guilty of murdering Dominic "Junior" Senzarino, a local bookmaker and first cousin to Ronnie & Charlie Carabbia. Dorler and another hitman for hire Samuel "Skinny Sam" Fossesca were both contracted by the Pittsburgh faction during the Cleveland-Pittsburgh war from 1978-1982. The FBI stated that everything Robert Dorler told them was 100% spot on and called him the most important resource that the FBI ever had regarding mob hits & disappearances during the war.

[Five Felonies]

it was learned that he was a marine sharpshooter and was an expert marksman with the same high powered rifle used in Naples' murder.

do you know what type of rifle was used?

[JCB1977]

it was learned that he was a marine sharpshooter and was an expert marksman with the same high powered rifle used in Naples' murder.

do you know what type of rifle was used?

All I know was that it was a high powered hunting rifle.

[FriendofHenry]

it was learned that he was a marine sharpshooter and was an expert marksman with the same high powered rifle used in Naples' murder.

do you know what type of rifle was used?

All you "gun guys" are the same: Rumor has it:"308 and don't be late"

[JCB1977]

Here is a photo and pictures of Lenny Strollo's plush Canfield, OH home that has now been sold to a doctor:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7000- ... 1991_zpid/

[JCB1977]

Lenny Strollo indictment article in Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

http://old.post-gazette.com/regionstate ... rollo7.asp

[JCB1977]

Here is the appeal of Sheriff Phil Chance, a Strollo employee:

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-6th-circuit/1003150.html

[JCB1977]

Great report on Lenny Strollo and his crew's control of Local 377:

http://irbcases.wrlc.org/bitstream/hand ... sequence=2